Khonoma in Nagaland had put up the last organised Naga resistance against the British in 1879. A century and 30 years later, this village is digging into its past to realise a new potential: village tourism

Alau Meru, a Naga woman farmer, starts her day early. She sets out to the field down below the village, works for about three hours, clearing weeds and regulating water for the paani-khti (wet-cultivation). This is a routine that most people in Khonoma village stuck to for over 400 years. But now, things are changing. The insurgency-ridden state is waking up to a new potential: village tourism.

At first sight, Khonoma is a like any other village in the northeast: lush green, virgin. But tucked away in the green are reams of history and stories of the valiant Angmani tribals. Each of the three rooms in Alau Meru’s double-storeyed house—dainty ones with wooden floors—bring in at least Rs 200 a day, with some more money coming from the food that she serves to her guests.

“Till four years ago, these rooms were lying idle. Things changed only when the village council established the village tourism development board,” she said. “Initially we were shy to ask for money after keeping the guests for two days. But now we have got used to it,” she said.

Like Meru’s, the Khonoma Tourism Development Board has set aside about a dozen other houses as part of the village tourism plan. The Village Council too helps regulate tourist flow into the village.

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